


Lullaby

by Magnuslove



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27514906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magnuslove/pseuds/Magnuslove
Summary: Cara always hums the same song.
Relationships: Cara Dune/The Mandalorian
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	Lullaby

He’d heard her sing it before. When she was working on the Razor Crest, when she’d help him clean his armor, or when she tended to his wounds after a fight. A calm lilting lullaby, hummed with a silky rich voice. The sound snaked it’s way into his soul, and was all the more powerful because she didn’t seem to notice it’s hold on him. He assumed that the song had words, but she never sang them. Just a rich voice, whispered tendrils of notes that wrapped around him and pulled him into her atmosphere. It was intoxicating to the man, even though he was sure that wasn’t the intention. It lulled him into a sense of comfort, and made him feel safe and cared for. Something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Now Cara was drying the child off after his bath. The little one was tuckered out after a full day of playing and romping with her. She had insisted, despite the bounty hunter’s protests, that the boy be allowed to play a little, outside of the ship, on solid ground. She’d scoured the star map and found a small, lightly populated planet where they could set down for a little while, and after a bit of prodding and pouting on Cara’s end, Mando had relented. Truth be told, they had all needed a break. Mando set the Razor Crest down beside a lake tucked at the bottom of majestic mountains and Cara and the child had spent the day swimming and frolicking in the water while he watched from the shore. Water wasn’t really his thing, and staying on shore allowed him to remove his helmet and take in the view and the fresh air that the surroundings had to offer. It had been a magical day for the trio.  
  


Now the child sat sleepily in Cara’s lap on Din’s bunk as she dried him off. The poor thing was nodding off and Cara had to hold him with one hand to make sure that he didn’t fall.

”We’re almost done, little man,” she cooed. “Then it’s off to bed for you.” When she got to his ears, she started humming the lullaby. It seemed even more intimate in his small cramped quarters, and while Mando was once again entranced by it, it turned out to be the baby’s undoing. With a final yawn, his ears dropped and he sank limply into Cara’s arms.

”You almost made it,” she chuckled. She slipped him gently into his night clothes before lifting the child and handing him to Din.

”I assume you want to put him down for tonight? I wanna go get cleaned up.”

Mando took the child in his arms, and Cara gave him one last peck in the forehead before rising and exiting the room. The bounty hunter watched her leave before placing the child in his carrier, certain that he was indeed down for the night.   
  


Din himself wasn’t tired. Far from it. He was anxious and restless. Today had been such a different experience and had shown him a side of Cara that he’d never seen before. There was no longer any way to deny that she loved the child and treated him as her own. The lullaby was as a mother singing to her own baby, and it warmed his heart. This woman had become his best friend and co-guardian to the child that at one point had tried to kill her. Yet her she was, providing the boy with things that he couldn’t: a familiar face, a nurturing spirit, warm arms to fall asleep in, and a beautiful melody sung by a beautiful woman. He was the boy’s guardian, but Cara was his protector.   
  


“Dammit,” he muttered to no one, before climbing the ladder and making his way to the cockpit. Night had fallen, and Din sat with only the instrument panel providing a soft glow that reflected off of his helmet. He had thoughts, so many thoughts in his head about the woman who was now showering below deck. He hadn’t planned for any of this to happen, and he had no reason to expect that it would. He only showed one side of himself to people, because to him that was the only side that mattered. Showing a gentle side, a soft side, would get you taken advantage of. He thought that Cara Dune shared his philosophy, until he heard the song. She’d let her guard down enough to hum that song, something he would never do. But why not? It was just a song, a little lullaby.   
  


Cara made her way into the cockpit and sank into the co-pilot chair, towel wrapped around her hair. She was wearing a long shirt, and tucked her bare legs under her body as she settled into the seat beside the Mandalorian.

”So was I right?” she asked as she removed the towel and began drying her thick dark hair.   
  


“About what?”

”About taking a break? Admit it, you had fun,” she teased.

”The kid really enjoyed it,” he answered softly. “That’s what matters.”

”Ok, tough guy. You just can’t say it. That’s ok. I know the truth.”

He looked over and saw her smirk in the soft light before bending forward to let her hair hang over the panel, running the towel from the back through the loose waves that tumbled around her face. He fought the urge to help her, instead turning back to look out into the darkness of the cockpit window. They sat in silence, aside from the sound of the towel scrunching her hair. And then she started humming. Soft, low, sweet. Stars help him!

”What is that song, Cara?”

”What?”

”That song. You hum it all of the time. What is it?”

“Oh.” She sat quietly for a few moments, and Din wondered if she was going to answer him. When she finally did speak again, it was a soft sad whisper.

”My mother used to sing it to me when I was a little girl on Alderaan. Anytime I was scared or upset. It calmed me down. I guess it still does. Seems to work on the little guy too.”

_Not just the child, Din thought._

_”_ I assume it has words? Do you know them?”

”I don’t. Or at least I don’t anymore. I don’t even remember the name. Just the melody. I assume it was an Alderaan thing. I never heard it anywhere else. I haven’t heard it since.”

“It’s very pretty. I see why you like it.” They fell into silence again. Din looked at the woman, who now appeared deep in thought.

”I had forgotten about it for the longest time,”Cara started again. “Until Alderaan was destroyed. We were on a transport, about to be dropped, and it popped into my head out of nowhere. It was so strange. I didn’t find out about Alderaan until after the mission, but I think somehow, I knew.”

”Your parents, they were-“

”On Alderaan, yes. Everyone I cared about was on Alderaan.”

”I’m sorry, Cara. If it’s any consolation, I know how you feel.”

”I know,” she sighed. “I’ve felt lost for a long time. But I don’t any more. I think it’s why I started singing it again. This...you, the kid, kinda feels like home. I feel safe, calm. Like I can live again. Sounds, weird, huh?”

”No. Feeling safe should be normal. Keep humming your lullaby, Cara.”

”Keep making me feel safe, Din Djarin. Maybe one day I’ll remember the words.” She rose from her seat and made her way over to the Mandalorian.   
  


“I’m going to bed. See you in the morning, big guy,” she whispered, planting a kiss on top of his helmet before slipping away. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I need to finish my other story, but it’s damn depressing. This one kinda is too, but it’s happy ending territory.


End file.
